Shakespeare's Lovers: A Text for Performance and Analysis

Performed successfully during the California Shakespearean Festival in Visalia, this play― woven from Shakespearean scenes, songs, and sonnets―presents “Shakespeare’s uni­versal, enduring, fully human values about love” in a “rich Shakespearean tapestry of romance,” state the authors, Libby Appel and Michael Flachmann.

The play is organized into two acts con­taining four dramatic sections “Discovering Love,” “Seeking Advice about Love,” “Hav­ing Problems with Love,” and “Finding Solu­tions to Love’s Problems.” To the right of each page of text is a clear, understandable glossary defining difficult words; at the bot­tom of these pages occasional longer notes explicate obscure or difficult references; each facing left-hand page contains stage di­rections. This creates a theatrical prompt-book format, leaving plenty of blank space for recording notes, ideas, and stage directions.

Libby Appel is Dean of the School of The­atre at the California Institute of the Arts and is author of Mask Characterization: An Acting Process.

Mi­chael Flachmann, Professor of English, Cal­ifornia State College, Bakersfield, specializes in Shakespearean drama and Renaissance studies.